Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Person

Loretta Johnson

Nationality:

American
Residence:

Baltimore, Maryland
Occupation:

Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus of the American Federation of Teachers
Political Party:

Democrat Party

Loretta Johnson is a labor union activist and the secretary-treasurer emeritus of the left-of-center American Federation of Teachers (AFT). 1  Throughout her 54-year career of labor union activism, 2 Johnson worked as the secretary-treasurer of the AFT, vice president of the AFL-CIO, 3 president of the Baltimore Teachers Union, and president of the AFT-Maryland statewide chapter 4 5 and was a trustee of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. 6

In 2014, Johnson chaired AFT’s critical race theory-influenced “Racial Equity Task Force.” 7 8 9 The task force’s report claims that systemic cultural and institutional racism have extended back more than 400 years in the United States 10 and that the “fight for racial justice remains the unfinished business” of both the AFT and the United States. 11

Career

Loretta Johnson is a labor union activist and the secretary-treasurer emeritus of the left-of-center American Federation of Teachers (AFT) labor union. 12 She has been a labor union activist for at least 54 years. 13

Johnson supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement. 14 15 16 She has also claimed that “segregation is keeping educational and economic opportunities out of African American hands” across the United States 17 and said that AFT’s work to support the lives of African American women and girls must include “black transgender women and nonconforming people of color.” 18

She has worked to advance the critical race theory-influenced concepts of racial and economic justice in her various positions with the AFL-CIO labor union, as well. 19

Union Activism

Lorretta Johnson’s career of union activism began in the late 1960s when she worked as a teacher’s aide in Baltimore City Public Schools. There she began to organize paraprofessional workers into the Baltimore Teachers Union (BTU). 20 21 Johnson helped negotiate the first BTU contract in 1970 and went on to work as the president of BTU for 35 years. During this time she also led the AFT-Maryland statewide chapter for 17 years and represented AFT on the National Taskforce on Paraprofessional Certification in 1979. 22 23 24 25 26

In the early 1990s, Johnson was elected vice president of AFT, 27 28 running on a slate with then-New York City United Federation of Teachers (UFT) labor union president Randi Weingarten. Upon Johnson’s departure from AFT, Weingarten called her a “powerhouse in every sense of the word.” 29

Johnson was the executive vice president of the AFT until 2011, when she became the secretary-treasurer. She held that role until her retirement in 2020. 30 Johnson was also elected vice president of the AFL-CIO labor union in 2011. 31

In 2014, Johnson chaired AFT’s critical race theory-influenced “Racial Equity Task Force.” 32 33 34 In the task force’s 2015 report, AFT claims that racial equity cannot be separated from the critical race theory-influenced concept of economic justice. 35 The report also claims that systemic cultural and institutional racism have extended back more than 400 years in the United States 36 and that the “fight for racial justice remains the unfinished business” of the AFT and the United States. 37 Johnson is “most proud of” chairing the Racial Equity Task Force and expressed hopes that the organization’s report will be viewed as her “legacy.” 38

In 2019, Johnson joined the executive committee of the AFL-CIO’s Department of Professional Employees (DPE) as treasurer. This executive committee helped represent DPE’s 24-member coalition consisting of more than four million professional and technical union members. 39

She retired from her role with AFT in 2020 and worked on AFL-CIO’s executive council until her retirement in 2021. 40 41

Johnson has been on the board of directors of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, an African American “constituency group” of the AFL-CIO since 2008. 42 She is also on the board of directors of the left-progressive environmentalist organization BlueGreen Alliance, left-of-center Citizens for Tax Justice, Child Labor Coalition, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 43 and the left-of-center Albert Shanker Institute, a labor union think tank operated by the AFT. 44

Previously she was a trustee of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, 45 on the board of the Faith and Politics Institute, and the assistant treasurer for the Baltimore County chapter of the NAACP. 46

During her activist career, Johnson was also on the board of AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department and the Services Trades Department, vice president of Metropolitan Baltimore Council AFL-CIO, and treasurer of the Municipal Employees Credit Union. 47 She has received community service awards from  United Way, a volunteer service award from the Maryland State AFL-CIO labor union, and a service award from the Baltimore Teachers Union’s paraprofessional chapter. 48

Political Positions

Loretta Johnson is a member of the Democratic Party and has donated money to the Maryland Democratic Party. 49 In 2005, the Maryland Democratic Party named Johnson the labor leader of the year. 50

In 2020, Johnson publicly supported the presidential campaign of Joe Biden (D), claiming that Biden “stands with unions.” 51 52  In 2018, Johnson received an Economy/Labor Service Award from the Baltimore County Democratic Party. 53

In 2017, Johnson urged delegates of the California Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second-largest teachers union, to “fight against” the agenda of then-President Donald Trump. 54 Johnson also called the Trump administration “a horror,” 55 opposed Trump administration immigration policies, 56 and supported the 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton (D). 57

References

  1. “Twitter Bio.” Lorretta Johnson Twitter. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://twitter.com/LorrettaJohnson.
  2. “Retiring AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson honored with Bayard Rustin Award.” American Federation of Teachers. July 28, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/news/retiring-aft-secretary-treasurer-lorretta-johnson-honored-bayard-rustin-award.
  3. “AFT’s Lorretta Johnson Elected to AFL-CIO Executive Board.” American Federation of Teachers. August 2, 2011. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/press-release/afts-lorretta-johnson-elected-afl-cio-executive-board.
  4. “AFT leader brings perspective and vision.” CFT: A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals. May 1, 2017. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.cft.org/california-teacher/aft-leader-brings-perspective-and-vision.
  5. “Dr. Lorretta Johnson: Fighting for Equality and Racial Justice.” Democracy Lessons. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2008-07-lorretta_johnson_in_line_for_a-story.html.
  6. “Executive Council List.” Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.cbtu.org/membership/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CBTU-Exec.-Council-List.pdf.
  7. “Reclaiming the Promise of Racial Equity.” American Federation of Teachers. October 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. Pg. 1. https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/racial_equity_taskforce_10-8-15.pdf.
  8. “AFT issues groundbreaking report on racial equity.” American Federation of Teachers. October 9, 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/news/aft-issues-groundbreaking-report-racial-equity.
  9. “AFT Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus.” American Federation of Teachers. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/about/leadership/lorretta-johnson
  10. “Reclaiming the Promise of Racial Equity.” American Federation of Teachers. October 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/racial_equity_taskforce_10-8-15.pdf.
  11. “Reclaiming the Promise of Racial Equity.” American Federation of Teachers. October 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/racial_equity_taskforce_10-8-15.pdf.
  12. “Twitter Bio.” Lorretta Johnson Twitter. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://twitter.com/LorrettaJohnson.
  13. “Retiring AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson honored with Bayard Rustin Award.” American Federation of Teachers. July 28, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/news/retiring-aft-secretary-treasurer-lorretta-johnson-honored-bayard-rustin-award.
  14. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted June 10, 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://twitter.com/LorrettaJohnson/status/608785965331521536.
  15. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted June 8, 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://twitter.com/LorrettaJohnson/status/607996793847046144.
  16. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted June 13, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://twitter.com/LorrettaJohnson/status/1271923776226295809.
  17. Johnson, Lorretta. “Brown v. Board: I Remember the Day.” Medium. May 16, 2014. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://medium.com/@LorrettaJohnson/brown-v-board-i-remember-the-day-526790286f08.
  18. Johnson, Lorretta. “We must say her name, too.” American Federation of Teachers Voices. June 11, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://aftvoices.org/we-must-say-her-name-too-339d9c470dab.
  19. “On the Retirement of Lorretta Johnson.” AFL-CIO. November 5, 2021. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://aflcio.org/about/leadership/statements/retirement-lorretta-johnson.
  20. “AFT leader brings perspective and vision.” CFT: A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals. May 1, 2017. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.cft.org/california-teacher/aft-leader-brings-perspective-and-vision.
  21. “Dr. Lorretta Johnson: Fighting for Equality and Racial Justice.” Democracy Lessons. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2008-07-lorretta_johnson_in_line_for_a-story.html.
  22. “Retiring AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson honored with Bayard Rustin Award.” American Federation of Teachers. July 28, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/news/retiring-aft-secretary-treasurer-lorretta-johnson-honored-bayard-rustin-award.
  23. “On the Retirement of Lorretta Johnson.” AFL-CIO. November 5, 2021. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://aflcio.org/about/leadership/statements/retirement-lorretta-johnson.
  24. McConer, Korima. “Lorretta Johnson: A Trailblazer for Workers and Civil Rights.” AFT Michigan. February 15, 2021. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://aftmichigan.org/aft-michigan-weekly-update-47/.
  25. Johnson, Lorretta. “Looking Back, Looking Ahead.” American Educator. Summer 2016. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1104457.pdf.
  26. Johnson, Lorretta. “Looking Back, Looking Ahead.” American Educator. Summer 2016. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1104457.pdf.
  27. “Retiring AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson honored with Bayard Rustin Award.” American Federation of Teachers. July 28, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/news/retiring-aft-secretary-treasurer-lorretta-johnson-honored-bayard-rustin-award.
  28. “On the Retirement of Lorretta Johnson.” AFL-CIO. November 5, 2021. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://aflcio.org/about/leadership/statements/retirement-lorretta-johnson.
  29. Neufeld, Sara. “Lorretta Johnson in line for AFT post.” The Baltimore Sun. July 10, 2008. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2008-07-lorretta_johnson_in_line_for_a-story.html.
  30. McConer, Korima. “Lorretta Johnson: A Trailblazer for Workers and Civil Rights.” AFT Michigan. February 15, 2021. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://aftmichigan.org/aft-michigan-weekly-update-47/.
  31. “AFT’s Lorretta Johnson Elected to AFL-CIO Executive Board.” American Federation of Teachers. August 2, 2011. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/press-release/afts-lorretta-johnson-elected-afl-cio-executive-board.
  32. Reclaiming the Promise of Racial Equity.” American Federation of Teachers. October 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/racial_equity_taskforce_10-8-15.pdf.
  33. “AFT issues groundbreaking report on racial equity.” American Federation of Teachers. October 9, 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/news/aft-issues-groundbreaking-report-racial-equity.
  34. “AFT Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus.” American Federation of Teachers. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/about/leadership/lorretta-johnson.
  35. [1] “Reclaiming the Promise of Racial Equity.” American Federation of Teachers. October 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/racial_equity_taskforce_10-8-15.pdf
  36. “Reclaiming the Promise of Racial Equity.” American Federation of Teachers. October 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/racial_equity_taskforce_10-8-15.pdf.
  37. “Reclaiming the Promise of Racial Equity.” American Federation of Teachers. October 2015. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/racial_equity_taskforce_10-8-15.pdf.
  38.  Johnson, Lorretta. “Looking Back, Looking Ahead.” American Educator. Summer 2016. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1104457.pdf.
  39. [1]  Barrows, Katie. “DPE Honors Retiring AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson.” September 1, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.dpeaflcio.org/press-releases/dpe-honors-retiring-aft-secretary-treasurer-lorretta-johnson.
  40. “AFT Resolution Lorretta Johnson.” American Federation of Teachers. 2020. Accessed July 10, 2022. https://www.aft.org/resolution/lorretta-johnson.
  41. “On the Retirement of Lorretta Johnson.” AFL-CIO Executive Council. November 5, 2021. Accessed July 10, 2022. https://aflcio.org/about/leadership/statements/retirement-lorretta-johnson.
  42. “AFT Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus.” American Federation of Teachers. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/about/leadership/lorretta-johnson.
  43. “Retiring AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson honored with Bayard Rustin Award.” American Federation of Teachers. July 28, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/news/retiring-aft-secretary-treasurer-lorretta-johnson-honored-bayard-rustin-award.
  44. “Lorretta Johnson.” American Federation of Teachers. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/about/leadership/lorretta-johnson.
  45. “Executive Council List.” Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.cbtu.org/membership/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CBTU-Exec.-Council-List.pdf.
  46. “AFT Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus.” American Federation of Teachers. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/about/leadership/lorretta-johnson.
  47. “Retiring AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson honored with Bayard Rustin Award.” American Federation of Teachers. July 28, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/news/retiring-aft-secretary-treasurer-lorretta-johnson-honored-bayard-rustin-award.
  48. “Lorretta Johnson: AFT Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus. American Federation of Teachers. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/about/leadership/lorretta-johnson.
  49. “Individual contributions.” Federal Election Commission Contribution Search Results. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=lorretta%20johnson.
  50. “AFT Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus.” American Federation of Teachers. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/about/leadership/lorretta-johnson.
  51. “I’m with Joe.” AFT Voices. February 28, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://aftvoices.org/im-with-joe-608ead2d817.
  52. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted February 26, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://twitter.com/LorrettaJohnson/status/1232727630916587520.
  53. [1] “AFT Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus.” American Federation of Teachers. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.aft.org/about/leadership/lorretta-johnson.
  54. “AFT leader brings perspective and vision.” CFT: A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals. May 1, 2017. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.cft.org/california-teacher/aft-leader-brings-perspective-and-vision.
  55. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted August 20, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://twitter.com/LorrettaJohnson/status/1296630018697814023.
  56. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted July 15, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://twitter.com/LorrettaJohnson/status/1283481241044553728.
  57. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted September 26, 2016. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://twitter.com/LorrettaJohnson/status/780587096654417921.
  See an error? Let us know!